FAQs

Availability

As with other booksellers, books sold from an internet site are sometimes not removed from that site for some time after the date of sale. It is annoying for everybody but we do all we can to try keep our listings as up-to-date as possible. We therefore cannot absolutely guarantee that every book advertised by us is actually still available for sale.

Book Condition

We endeavour to describe the condition of all our books as accurately as possible, particularly noting any faults or blemishes. All our books are carefully collated and where no faults are mentioned it may therefore be assumed that the book is complete as published.

Bibliographical References

We use a large number of bibliographies and other reference works including several that are available through the internet. If any of our references are unclear we will be happy to give further details.

Purchasing

Please use our Shopping Basket procedure to order items listed on the website. We will assess the cost of post, packing and insurance, and email you a pro forma invoice. On receipt of payment (see paragraph below) you will be informed by email of the date and method of despatch together with any tracking number.

Payment

We normally invoice our books in £ Sterling but we do accept payment in other currencies provided that the amount finally credited to our account meets the invoice total after payment of all bank charges and other costs of currency conversion. If you prefer, we can provide a dual-currency invoice. We find that for overseas customers it is most convenient and cost-effective for both us and them to pay by either Visa, Mastercard or Amex credit card. If using this method, please give us: card number & expiry date, 3 digit security number (on reverse of card), exact name on card & cardholder address, and delivery address (if different). Or bank-to-bank transfer is equally convenient. If using this method, please make sure that any bank charges and conversion charges are paid at your end. All our banking details are set out at the foot of our invoices. We do also accept payment by Paypal. And of course, we do also accept old-fashioned cheques, as long as they are from a UK-based bank.

Despatch

Books are insured by us and usually sent by Royal Mail (1st class Recorded Delivery inland, or Airmail Recorded Delivery overseas). When, occasionally, we send a large group of books together, these will usually be sent by 48-hour recorded parcel (Parcelforce) inland, or by Standard International Parcel (i.e. by Air) overseas. However, other arrangements can easily be made to suit customers' wishes. [We do, for example, have a Fedex account.] The cost of carriage will be made up of the actual cost of postage (including the Recorded Delivery cost), insurance at 0.25% inland and 0.5% overseas, and a very small amount for packing and handling

Returns

If for any reason a purchaser is unhappy with a book supplied by us we will accept the item back without question, provided we are notified within two weeks from date of invoice and that the book is returned promptly, safely and without damage.

Printed Catalogues

We usually issue four to five catalogues a year and send these by post free to librarians and private customers who have asked for them. Each usually lists between 150 and 200 items selected from all areas of our subject range. However, at least one catalogue a year tends to be a specialist listing focusing on one coherent subject and for obvious reasons this may be sent to a rather more restricted list of recipients. In some cases all, but usually most, of the items listed will be from our recent purchases. Books from these catalogues that remain unsold after 3 to 4 weeks will normally only then be added to our website listings.

Emailed Catalogues

Clearly it is much cheaper to send out catalogues by email, so we are happy to add your name to our growing list of those customers who like this service. Emailed catalogues are produced in a more workaday format, unillustrated, and with narrow margins and a slightly smaller and uniform font, so as to get more items per screen page.

Valuations

We do from time to time value books and libraries for insurance, probate and other purposes. We do of course charge for this service. Please ask for details.

We are not able to value books without actually seeing them physically, although we will sometimes be persuaded to give a broad idea of a book's value subject to the usual caveats.